TIIE OMAHA VAlhY BJ3J3: WEDNESDAY. M Alt Oil 28, 1900.
n
TREASURES OF PEN AND PRINT
Projreia of the Work of Rwtoring Prtcelers
Booki and Manuscript!.
RAVAGES OF TIME AND VERMIN
IloiiUn anil WrlthiK or (iron! Vnlm
In the ,pv Coimrtniiloiinl Mlirury
Solenllfle Sjxlc-iii of I'ri-HiT-vntliin
i:inl) ril.
(Copyright, 1600, by Huth Klmbull rjardlner.)
If It bo true, as certain jiorBohs main
tain, that tho bent ot tho mind donendH
on thu character of tho food taken, tho
rats and mica and fat brown roaches who
llvo and movo and havo their being In the
capltol at Washington must be ot a su
perior order of Intellect, for until .a little
moro than two yearn ano they fed on some
of tho richest nnd rarcut educational ford
to he found In tho wholr- country. The
prlcelesH collections of mnps, charts and
manuscript which nro tlven so much space
In tho now building of the library of con
grits wero little moro than food for vermin
In tho old library. Tho cramped quarters
did not afford epaco for tho hooka alone,
whllo tho less called for, thoURh equally
valuablo, posswwlons of tho library wero
Ington's Orderly Hook, and the diary kept f maps In hlndMslon only thoso on exhibition
by him in 1787, and covering the period of still retain the old-fasbloncd rod.
the feJeral conventions. It U Interesting Perhaps the gem of the map collection H
to notlco that while tho diary contains very Bernard Roman's map of Florida, dated 1771,
llttlo Information concerning the conven-j which Is so raro that no other Is known to
tlons, tho namrs 'of all the peoplo with bo In existence, aud oiany bibliographers In
whom Washington dined and supped aro sist that no such map was ever engraved,
carefully Bet down. These papers, as well Another map of Inestimable value which has
ns most ot the other manuscript relating never been consulted by historians Is a map
to Washington, are In an excellent state of military operations In America from Au
of preservation, and havo been practically gust 12, 1776, to 1770. It Is a manuscript
untouched by the restorer. The collection map, and with tho wording In French. It
Is especially rich In Washlngtonla. Many shows tho positions of the Ilrltlsh and
of tho papers came Into the library by tho American forces In tho battles fought dur
purchaso of Jefferson's library In 1813, 1 ng that time. Only recently tho restorer
others by tho purchano of the I'rter Force has been busy with n, map made In 1771 by
collection In 187, and tho remainder by Washington's own band, ot lands granted to
purchase at various limes and by gift. The him along tho great Kanawha river. It con
valuablo collection of Hochambenu papers, ta,1H tx pa.a und numerous annotations by
Including lotters from French aud American ; Washington.
oincors nnd more than thirty with Washing- j This map. like every other In tho collec
ton's slgnnturc, cost tho government $20,000 tioti has been treated according to Mr. Phil
In 1683. lira' own method, which makes It pos-Mblo
.mI('ii(II1- Hi'xdirntloii. to refer to any map n eiislly ns if It were
Some of tho manuscripts have needed 1 a book. Tho bath that Is given to manu
llttlo restoration, but the great mnjorlty script is obviously Impossible In the cose
havo required careful treatment. The work of maps, tho mct valuable of which are
of restoration as carried on nt the library j drawn with ink and colored with crayon
Is a science, and Dr. Freldenwald Is con-i and water color. No cleunlng preparation
Htnntly studying and experimenting with n ' can bo used nnd tho restorer tells with
vlow to learning what Improvement In his . righteous horror of one priceless) imp which
method Is possible. Hu Is at present en- vaj ruined by a government workman, who
gaged along a lino of research which would I cleaned It with ncld and wiped tho entire
bo wholly unintelligible to tho layman, nmt arnwlng off tho faro of tho paper. Kvcry
tho result of which ho proposes to lay before . ,na,, j taken from lUt roller nnd cut Into
the scientific library world In tho near future. J t,Ct,C8 h0ut the tzo ot a large atlas. A
Certain of tho methods ho has adoptel luiHhcct of white cotton cloth Is stretched on
WILD RIDE ON A BUCKBOARD
Thrilling Experience of an Indian Agent in
Northern Utah,
HOT RACE OF A B0CZY DRIVER
Tour Mllrn of nrrny Moiuitnlii Itontl
Trnvrrtil nt (Inlt Hint Checked
Ills llrrutli mill Curled
Ills 1 1 it I r.
. . Out April 8, 1900 . .
' I liu nrnnnati n
tin1yA,1 n Its .lnatt n rw rt ml CttnUffl tlTtl I . . . ... . 1 1 ..t i . .
-unvu umoij , , y llUrflry( nnu urC I1UU t'Ji III Ultra ( l0 dCoS. TllO plOVfS OI thO lHHp tlTO
mlscuously In tho dark and damp rooiiis
down In thu crypt of tho capltol.
Heat, cold, damp nnd darknefs had their
way with these priceless things. A tradi
tion of the library has It that valuablo mups
were actually used to stop ratholes. Noth
ing could bn dnno to preserve tho papers i
and many of them were nlmct forgotten, j
Nobody know what treasures lay hidden in ,
odd corners till thtvwork of removal to tho
new building was begun and not till months
ef Iriccrsnnt labor had brought tho begin
ing of order out of tho chaoj jilled on be
floors of tho rooms devoted to these two
important divisions of tho library could tho
haVoc wrought by years cf unavoldablo nsg
lcct bo rightly estimated.
Among the manuscripts which had boon
stored uwuy. for a period In most cases of
from fifteen to thrly years, scarcely a
tenth' ot tho six hundred und moro volume
was found lit lo be handled without reblnd
Ing. Among tho unbound manuscripts, num
bering about one hundred and seventy vol
umes nnd two hundred odd bundles, tho
damago was immeasurably greater, and only
u very smnll number 'of all tho manuscripts
In Iho collection were not In need of tho re
storer's attention. Mnny of tho maps were
In tatters; some Indeed were so far gone In
ruin that even Iho most skillful restoration
could makn them nothing moro than a hint
of thel.' former solves.
MllllllKi'l-llit 1)1 vInIiiii.
Tho northeast pnvlllon of tho main floor
of tho new building has been chosen for the
manuscript division, because of Its greater
security. Tho good luck of tho American
people prevented any considerable loss of
valuable papera by theft during all tho
years they wero neglected In the cubby holes
ot tho capltol, but nothing is left to chance
In tho new library. A burglar would need
nil tho powers of tho slaves ot tho lump uud
tho ring to tako him -within reaching dls
taieo of tho treasures of tho manuscript
room. To bnglnwlth It has. walls seven or
eight feet thick, nnd ruasslvo doors, which
nro locked every night whoa tho building Is
closed. An nntc-room lies between It and
tho corridor, whore ,a wntchmnn stands
guard.
pass beyond the walls of the restoring room, ; .i.t ,.nn i, leavlne a narrow strlo of
but the greater number of manuscripts nro mU8ln between them for folding. The
restored under his direction In the simplest J pngt0 uaei, hrr0i ns ,n (ho mamiscrlpt dlvl
manncr possible. Ision, In mado of simple flour nnd water. The
Tho manuscript comes to the restorer s ; ma) restorfr.B rcc,,0 , ft pouml of nmlr to
hands wrinkled, yellow, dog cared at tho Kaon of W1(ler Atcr ,ho mlxturo hus
edges and worn and torn In the folds. Tho , ,)0C(1 tm R , Htlff a tabtcapcon rul of pul
Hrst thing that is dono to it Is to glo it a , VCTUcd alum is added nnd the paste Is
bath In warm water. Modern manuscript. UllmilJ ,,h atcr bCforo using. Tho map
written with nnilllio Ink on machine-made i (Ulpt) ovcr ng,,t nm, )g rrc,i(iri before It is
paper, would assuredly be ruined by be- fol(le(1 nlllI flc,i !iw.iy between the Xoldo of
Ing soakcil In water, but our great grand- ft sneel of hcQvy papcr. It can bo
fathers and their .great grandfathers wroto unfo,Jc,i nm refolded, after It hns been
with different Ink on haml-mucio paper uuu ( ,)rt,pr0(i ln ths way. as ottcn ns necewsary
wbh nuiint to Inst. Tho warm water does f Wth0ut danger ot wearing It at tho folds,
not mako tho old Ink "run." It seems, i hero Is no attempt made- to remove stains
rather, to make It sink deeper Into the. liber i or lnnrig j nny tncl nnd somp of the maps
of the papcr. The dust nnd many of the (MnK back to tho Sixteenth century havt
stains nnd finger marks ale washed off ln . ti,umb prints almost ns clear aud distinct
tho bath. After It Is taken from the water 1 aj tney pr? ,wo c,,,turies ago.
tho manuscript is carefully dried and pressed ( Many ot tno nilipS) n8( for example, tho
for twenty-four hours. At tbo end of that mnp ot tM0 northwestern boundary of tho
tlmo tho real work of restoration begins. t;nitcil States, according to tbo Webstcr
Thrrc Is, of course, no attempt to fill out Ashburton treaty, which Is signed by tho
thei missing words or Icttors. When a holo ; two mcn for whom It Is named, bear vnl
In tho manuscript Is patched tho patch Is j uablo signatures. Many moro aro quaintly
allowed to remain blank. Tho manuscript illustrated along the edges with engravings.
In really not so much restored ns It Is put Some of these names nnd pictures havo been
In good condition for preservation. Tho , reinforced by tho same means used to pro-dog-eared
edges arc pieecd out square f tect manuscript. In nil cases tbo work
again and tho lorn folds reinforced. When- lot repairing has been so skillfully done that
over posslblo tho paper of the manuscript 1 tlmo nnd uso ennnot destroy tho value of
is exactly matched In patches and nddl- nny of these do-umonts. Almost all of them
tlons. The blank sheets of old letters, other- j havo been mado perfectly legible. Only
wIko worthless, are used for this. Water ; Here nun mere a imsmng piece- ,,. .u(1u
murk Is Inlnnl to water mark ho nrocltely i edged
that when tho whole Is prrased tho work
of restoration can In many cases bo de
tected only after careful scrutiny.
When a manuscript Is in many pieces and
tho bits very fragllo It In pasted between
two sheets of almost transparent, btit very
strong paper. Dr. Frlcdcnwald prefers tho
uso of a certain kind of cloth to tho paper,
however, nnd most of the manuscripts are
now repaired with crcpcllne. Crcpellno Is
a thin silken fabric, very much like veiling
or n conrso quality of silk muslin, and coats
tho library 11V4 cents n yard, wholesale. It
Is not an exorbitant price, to bo sure, but
so many yards of It are used that this pro
cess of repairing Is considered somowhnt ex-
Sinco the courso of empire has taken Its
wny so completely westward, tho east is
rrono to belleva that the days of adventuro
nnd hairbreadth csJapcs In the Und beyond
the Mississippi have passed. Although
men no longer go nbout as walking arsenals,
looking for opportunities to devour their
fellow-men, the west Is yet capable of fur
nishing tales ot hardship and adventure as
thrilling as any that havo come down from
tho early dnys.
During tho last two years, relates Iho
Washington Post, Mr. E. H. Harper, a spe
cial agent In the service of tho Indian otllce,
nnd who Is now In Washington, has had a
number of experiences that, for halr-tals-Ing,
blood -freezing Interest rival the hnp-.
penlngs that befell the hardy pioneers who
pushed the borders of civilization across
the trackless prairies and beyond tho
Rockies.
Mr. Harper's duties have taken him
number of times to tho wild regions In
northeast Utah, ln the neighborhood ot
Fort Duchesne, to treat with tho Utes and
other Indian tribes. Tho nearest railroad
mat Ion to Fort Duchesne is Price, a dis
tance of 125 miles over ns rough a coun
try as can bo found nnywhero on earth.
Tho trip has to bo made by stage, not
tho big, cumbersome vchMo so popular ln
western romance tho country Is too
rough for that but a light buckboard,
pulled by four hardy and tireless mus
tangs. During the two years covering tho
period slnco Mr. Harper first had occasion
to go to Fort Duchesne ho has made tho
trip from Prlco by stugo no Icss than
twenty-two times, nnd not one of the trips
but has furnished him with a story of nd
venturo well worth tclllug. He has been
snowbot-nd and almost frozen In bllz-
zardBnnd tho burning sun has cooked him
until the skin peeled off his face. He has
been lost ln snow storms nnd sand storms
and on ono occasion, at least, the possibility
of an Indlnn uprising mado him feel his
scalp-lock with npprchcnslon.
I.unki'il I, Ike Certain Drntli.
Put there Is ono story of close proxim
ity to what seemed a certain nnd wholly
unpleasant death that Mr. Harper doesn't
llko to tell, doesn't oven llko to think of,
and It was only after much persuasion
that he related It to a reporter for the Post.
It Is a story of a wild ride down a mountain
trail behind four maddened horses, urged
Double Easter Number
OF THE
Omaha
Illustrated
Bee
Si
About', tho walls of tho room aro case-j pensive. When pasted tightly on both sides
fourteen feet In height.' They nro faced
with antique oak, nnd .with their plnln
glass dOoroK laokrOrrTUK" 'the bookcases
of tho .nverngo library. But thqy nro far
from being 'ordinary cases. Each ono of
them in lined' with shectlron ns a protection
against tho book-worms nnd cockroaches,
which are so much dreaded by librarians.
Ilelow tho glazed cases nro cupboards and
drawers, also shectlron lined, for tho keep
ing of munuscilpt ns yot unbound, or In
process of repair and restoration.
All tho cases In tho room nro kept locked
and "tho two keys which unlock them all
are nlwnya In tho posstnslim of Dr. Hcr
borl Frlcdcnwald, 'tho superintendent of tho
manuscript division. For tho greater safety
ot tho treasures In this division ot tho li
brary threo flteel tnfes nro provided
combinations of' their locks aro known' to
only two persons tho librarian of congress
nnd Dr. Frlcdtmwnld.
Hi-iiuirUiililii liiiiiiMii-lit.
Whether tho manuscripts kept in tho snfo
nro tho most valuablo In the collection It
would bo Imporslblo to say, as tho value
ot a manuscript Is an Indeterminate somo-
of a letter tho crepe'.lno can hardly bo seen,
nnd merely gives tho paper the look of the
modern modish paper -pressed Jn Imitation
of linen. It Is mnde In Trance, nnd Its uso
wna first adopted In tho library of tho Vati
can. Ilr. I'rli'ileiMvnld'-i Charwi-.
Tho collection under Dr. Frledenwnld's
chargo Is mado up for the most part ot
papers relntlng to colonial nnd revolutionary
history, though very recently manuscript of
moJern intcre.it ha been ndded. Dr. Frled
enwald has personally visited Porto HIco
within tho year, and has brought back n
mass of papers relating to Spanish opcu
pancy of the West Indies and to tho Spanish.
American war. A collection made by him of
tho autographs of Spanish governor-generals
The 1 ot I'orto. HIco fioni 1783 to 1S90 has recently
been placed on show ln ono of tho exhibit
rottt-a of the library, but thi greater part
of tho manuscript ho succeeded In collecting
Is still unpacked. The olllclal record of the
Ayunamlento, or council, of tho city ot
Mnnlla.has been added to the exhibit within
tho lust few months, as has also the fac
simile of tho conditional agreement between
Drlgadler General Pates and tho Bultnn ot
Ihlnff .1fnfnfl Inp" whnllv nn Ihn unlnl nf
view, but ono of tho treasures Dr. Frleden- ! Jo,; a most Interesting and unusual docu-
wdld guarila in tho suto Is tho oldest man
uscrlpt In tho library. It Is a tiny book,
only two and a halt Inches wido by three
nnd a quarter long, but tho quality of its
paper and Ink aro bo durable, nnd tho
outer cover which protects It so cunningly
contrived, that It is ln better condition
than many books only fifty years old,
though twelvo centuries hnvo gono by sluco
It was made. It Is a copy ot tho four goe
pels, In Syrlac, nnd was written by ono
Michael, eon of liar Znumn, ot Urblsh.
Ho ovldontly had In mind Its use for
church purposes. All tho fast days nro
carefully marked, and tho various loctlan
distinctly stated not only in tho text, but
also at Intervals on tho margin. An In
scription on tho outer covering states that
tho book Is tho proporty ot n certain bishop,
John John. Tho dato Indented is 039. Tho
book Is bound In a pongee-llko silk of a
dull red color, with tiny lines of grcon,
nnd Is oncneed In a silver gilt box, rudely,
but Intricately, chased, with a madonna
on ono nldo and n crucifix on tho other.
Another treasure kept In tho safo Is Wash-
ment.
Dr. Friodenwald Bays that tho valuablo
manuscripts to bo ndded to collections llko
tho ono under his charge, hereafter, will
consist almost wholly of typewritten papers.
Most of tbo letters written today, ho soya,
cannot bo preserved half a century. The Ink
will fndo and tho paper drop In pieces, ln
typewritten manuscripts, thoso which havo
been press copied will outlast nil tho rest,
as tho moistening of the Ink ln tho copying
process seemn to make Its color more, perma
nent. A (!r-ii Mll Ciilli-t'tloll.
In tho map nnd chart division of the li
brary, tho largest collection of maps In tho
country, tbo process of restoration Is some
what different, nnd tho superintendent of
that division, Mr. P. Leo Phillips, has solved
tho problem of arranging maps ln such n
way that they can rendlly bo referred to.
Maps hnvo heretofore been n stumbling
block to librarians, and mostr collections nr
practically worthless for refcrenco purposes,
owing to tho dllllculty' in 'arranging and
handling them. Mr. Phillips has dono nway
with the roller system, and of all tho 60,000
holo cunningly patched bears wit-1 on by a drunken drhcr.
tho ravages of tho days when rats ! On a recent visit lo tho north of Uta
co and roaches nnd dust and damp j Mr. Harper left Fort Duchesno for Pric
tirss to
nnd mice
nnd darkness did their worst to destroy
pome of tho most valuablo possessions of
tho library of congress.
OAPTAl.N 1'KAIIV'S MIITHIIIIITH.
Iluisr
Miikm of Mvcl Stored In Hie
Ili'uoWlyii Nnvy Ym-il.
The $.10,000 meteorlto which Lieutenant
It. H. Peary brought from tho Arctic regions
somo years ago, reports the Brooklyn Eagle,
will contlnuo to repose on tho cob dock ot
the Brooklyn navy yard. Hear Admiral
J. W. Philip, commandant of the yard, hav
ing been notified that ho cannot remove It
to tho concrcto platform prepared for It
nrnr tho trophy guns of tho Spanish-American
war. Tho meteorite Is tho largest In
the world nnd Is owned by Lieutenant Peary,
who is trying to dispose ot it to somo
museum.
Somo tlmo ngo Commandant Philip con
ceived tho idea, while mounting tho ennnon
tuken from tho Spanish navnl and military
authorities, to placo on exhibition the mo
teorlto which has attracted tho uttentlon of
scientists and others In nil parts of tho
world. Tho great lump of puro steel Is
hidden away, as It were, on nn obscure part
of tho ccb dock, whore it Is seldom seen by
peoplo who visit tbo yard. Tho com
mandant's Idea was to place the relic from
tho Arctic regions whero everyone could
Tho platform was preparou ror h
ah
co
ln a blinding snow storm, one of thoso
overwhelming blizzards not uncommon In
the northwest, hut, which visit tho cast
only onco or twico in n generation. Tho
one that swooped down on Washington a
year ngo was a splendid sample of tho
kind. Tho first day out they fought des
perately against wind and drifts and -when
night fell hut llttlo more than twenty miles
of tho distance had been covered. Ex
hausted nnd almost frpzen, they camped in
the snow and supped on their frozen pro
visions. By morning the storm had spent
Its fury, nnd although tho trail was lost
beneath several feet of snow, tho driver,
with an Instinct nil his own, picked out
the routo and tho tireless llttlo horses that
.lnv nulled tho vehicle over and through
I drifts for a dlslanpbt.'lnore than eighty
miles to the relay statfon at Smiths wells,
from which point tho trail descends ab
ruptly from tho high land down through
Soldier canyon.
A night's rest was taken nt tho station
and next morning, with fresh horses and
a now driver, the party, which had been
reinforced by Mr. W. W. Old, former post
master at Leadville and a noted man in tho
went, sturted on tbo final lap of tho Jour
ney. Tho now driver was or tho dime-novel
typo of stage coach drivers, reckless In ap
ncaranco and ro:klcss ln his driving, with
iiMin vrvmrri fnr hln nwn ftafetv and annar-
Handsome
Colored
Cover.
s
Beautiful
Half Tone
Engravings
k
Striking
Timely
Pictures
s 'e s
Replete with Attractive Special features
Highest Standard of Literary and Pictorial Art
5S S
Appropriate
Easter frontispiece
consulted, It being supposed thnt the mero
MM
wmmm
fnrmniitv nt niaklnc the request for the re
moval to the new slto was all that would bo
required. Tho secretary Informed the com
mandant that tho department had no Juris
diction over tho meteorite; that It was Lieu
tenant Peary's pcrsonnl property, the Navy
department having only given him permis
sion to land it on tho cob dock until ho
could dlsposo ot It. Tho platform Intended
for tho relic Is still unoccupied.
Lieutenant Peary discovered tho meteorlto
near Capo York on ono of his early expedi
tions to find tho north polo. Ho subsequently
mado a special trip to bring homo tho relic,
but his apparatus was Inadcquato and he had
to return without It. Later he wont In tho
Hopo with stronger paraphernalia nnd lm
monso hydraulic Jacks with which ho trans
ferred tho steel boulder to tho hold ot tho
ship. Tho Hopo arrived at Brooklyn from
tho Arctic regions October 2. 1S07, with tho
meteorite, which was taken from tho ship
by means of tho navy yard floating crane
und deposited on tho cob dock.
U lies near the East river shore of tho
cob dock, a short distance beyond tho re
ceiving ship Vermont. A sentry Is always
on guard nt this point aud visitors seldom
if ever get near tho hugo pllo of steel, ln
nppoaronco tho meteorlto does not look
unllko a hugo boulder. It rests on the
original oak tlmbors on which It wns brought
to this latitude. Tho meteorlto is nbout
eleven feet six inches In length, threo feet
four Inches thick nnd between six nnd seven
feet high, and weighs nbout 200,000 pounds.
It Is said to bo of tho purest Harveyized
steel, tho quality used for nrmor plate. It
Is so hnrd that oven with tho aid of cold
chisols only tho smallest fragments can bo
chipped from It. It Is said to bo worth
$50,000 for tho steol nlono which It contains.
Lieutennnt reary ueuovea u woum oe a
great loss to sclcnco to sell the curiosity for
Its commercial value, and hopes to induce
somo collego or museum to purchase It that
It may bo preserved In Its present form. Ho
la said to want $73,000 for It.
Scientists who havo examined tile meteor
ite say there aro fow furnaces In the world
whero It could bo melted, nnd to bo of com
mercial vnluo It would have to bo broken
apart with explosives,
I'iinn 'IViniicriiiii'i; Itcinliitlnnn.
W1LMINCTON. Del . March 27 -The Wil
mington Methodist Eplsi-opal conference,
which represents Delnwnro and a portion of
Maryland, today adapted n resolution con
demning tho army canteen and the uso and
sale of liquor In our possessions. Tho temper-unco
committee nlso presented another
resolution which condemned President Mc
Klnley ns it. member of the Methodist Kpls
copal church for public and private tippling-
Ii precipitated a hot discussion nnd
wns llnally rtffented by a voto of 07 to 43.
A resolution requesting the general con
ference to censure President McKlnlcy for
i-elllns aside tho autl-cnnte-on law nnd to
censure him for drinking liquor was adopted
nfer tho norsonal referenco to the presi
dent's drinking hud been stricken out.
HlK Sliliiliiillillim IMniil.
SAN FHANOISt'O. March JT.-The fall
says that the owners ot tho Itlsdon Iron
works have practically completed a deni
whereby they hnvo secured control of tho
ilMclllc Boiling Mills, the plant of which
r vors thirty-two acres und includes 1.700
i feet of water front on the bay. It Is stated
i that a dry dock rapahle of receiving the
largest vessel nlloat will lie built nnd that
. the Hlsdon Iron company will expend nbout
, Jl.OOrtOUO in constructing a complete ship-
iHiiMiiiK riuuuiiviiiiirni win-re ni least 3,iki
men will be emoloyed The company will
appoar as an a' live rival of the I'nion Iron
work i In bidding for th e Jiutructlon of war
tstLii ind other era ft of tho Ursjcst slza,
Before starting ho Imbibed freely of wicked
mountain whisky nnd on tho Journey hnd
frequent reference to n bottlo of tho deadly
compound that he carried with him. It was
very Important that Mr. Harper should catch
a certain train for the cast and he offered
tho driver an Inducement to get him to
Price In time. Ho relented of his proposi
tion before nn hour had passed and offered
to doublo tho amount If tho driver would
refrain from his purpose to "get him ther
or break his neck," but tho whisky had
arouswl tho dovll In the man and ho laughed
at danger.
Tho trail from tho plateau down into
Soldier canyon In four miles ln length nnd
winds, a narrow strip, around sharp corners
along tho faco of tho cliff hundreds of ftot
in heicht. nernondlculnr walls of rock
abovo and perpendicular walls of rock below,
Vol n PlriiNitnt I'riiMiii't't,
Tim trail Is dangerous in Iho best of
weather and with tho most careful of drlv
Ing. In somo placen, on this occasion, It
was choked with snow nnd In others, whero
tho wind hnd ewept It clean, was a glaro of
Ico sloping toward tho edge of the precipice.
It was not a plctisant prospect and only
urgent necessity prevented the travelers
from turning back. But tho driver sold ho
knew tho road and gave nssurance ot land
ing them eafnly at the bottom.
When tho edge of tho canyon was reached
Instead of slowing up nnd looking carefully
to his brakes, tho driver lashed IiIb horsos
Into a run, and yelling at tho top of his
voice, ho started down the descent. Every
second, Mr. Hnrper says, ho expected to bo
dashed to death on the Jagged rocks hun
drcds of feet beneath. At times, as they
rounded corners, Iho rear wheels would
swing out until thoy crumbled tho rock at
tho very edgo of tho rllfT, and It would
seem as if no power on oarth could prevent
them from going over. Plendlng and threats
with tho driver wero nllke without avail.
Ho wns crazed with drink, and only laughed
nt tho fears of hln passengers. Tho whip
wan applied unsparingly, und under Its
sharp sting tho horses tore along with leaps
nnd bounds.
"Tho four wheels wore at times all off
tho ground at once." said Mr. Harper, In
tolling the story, "and' we seemed to bo
flying through tho air. I firmly belloved
wo wero going to certain death. I know
that my hnlr literally stood on end. But
that kind Providence which Is said to care
for fools and drunken men Interfered In
our behalf, and In somo manner, I shall
never know how. wo reached tho bottom of
tho canyon with no more serious conse
quences than resulted front our scare.
"Bofore wo had gono half a mile after
reaching tho bottom tho ktng-pin In our
wagon broke, nnd driver and passengers
nllko went sprawling over tho ground. It
makes mo shudder ovon now to think whnt
would have been tho rebult had tho pin
broken whllo we wero tearing down that
trail. Wo reached Prlro in tlmo to got our
train, however, and tho driver claimed his
reward,"
Check that Cough
with BROWN'S
BRONCHIAL TROOHE8.
Fo-Blma
bisnuoro
Reproduced from a photo-
to
graph designed specially for
The Bee by the best local
artist.
(7)
prominently in
business circles.
People
Everyone Reads About
Portrait introductions to I
men and women who figure
social
fflffi?
and
c
No Better Medium for Advertisers in This Section
Read by Most People
Most Widely Circulated
Partial Glimpse at the Menu, j
Leaders of Omaha's Younger Society Set.
Managing Nebraska's State University. I
Frank G. Carpenter in the Philippines.
Cha racter Sketch of Senator Gorman.
Q
Instructive Types of Our Immigrant Women. I
Military Attaches in Washington Diplomacy. I
Children's Corner in Omaha Public Library.
Easter Hats Posed on Living Models.
est
S S Q s
The Double Easter Number
OF the
Omaha Illustrated Bee
WILL BE
An Unequalled Artistic Production.
Watch for It April 8
